States / North Dakota

Chronic absence in North Dakota

Where things stand, what state rules ask of each role, and what is changing. For school and district leaders.

School year 2024-25

22%

of students were chronically absent¹

Chronically absent means attended school for more than 10 days and missed 10 percent or more of their enrolled days.²

U.S. rate: 22.6% (2024-25)¹⁹

Five-year trend

North Dakota, year by year

North Dakota chronic absence by school year
School year	Chronically absent
2018-19	12%
2021-22	22%
2022-23	20%
2023-24	20%
2024-25	22%

Dashed bars mark years the state did not publish a rate.

Where things stand

The numbers

In 2024-25, 22% of North Dakota students were chronically absent, according to AEI's compilation of state-reported data, which labels that year 2025¹.
State education agency data, as reported by a regional newspaper, put the rate at 12% in 2018-19, a peak of 22% in 2021-22 and 20% in 2023-24³.
State data reported by another newspaper also showed 20% in 2022-2023⁴.
Native American students in public school districts were chronically absent at 30% in 2018-2019, more than twice the state average, and at 39% in 2023-2024, per state data reported by a local newspaper⁴.
A state data study of 7th graders found that chronically absent students were roughly 4.5x more likely to drop out of high school; the study notes this gap does not by itself show the effect of absence⁵.
Nationally, 22.6% of students were chronically absent in 2024-25, close to North Dakota's 22% that year^19,1.

Requirements by role

What state rules ask of each role

Teachers

Each teacher and administrator is charged with enforcing the state's compulsory attendance provisions⁶.
If a teacher determines that a student is not in attendance as the attendance law requires, and the student has not been excused under that law or under the school district's or nonpublic school's policies, the teacher must notify the school's administrator⁶.

Counselors

If a school official refers a child as a child in need of services, the referral must include information showing that the district has sought to resolve the problem through all appropriate and available educational approaches⁸.
It must also show that the district has sought to engage the child's parent, guardian or legal custodian in solving the problem, but that person has been unwilling or unable to do so, the problem remains, and court intervention is needed⁸.
If a school official files a complaint that a child who is eligible, or suspected to be eligible, for services under the federal special education law or Section 504 is a child in need of services, it must include information showing the district has determined the child is eligible or suspected to be eligible, and has reviewed the child's current individualized education program and placement for appropriateness and made modifications as appropriate⁸.

Attendance team

To be in attendance under the law, a student may not be absent without excuse for more than three consecutive school days, or six half days, during either the first half or the second half of the school calendar, or for more than twenty-one class periods⁶.
Under the juvenile law, a child in need of services includes a child in need of treatment or rehabilitation who is habitually and without justification truant from school while subject to compulsory attendance, and is absent without an authorized excuse more than three days during a school year⁷.
A referral alleging a child is a child in need of services may be made by a parent, guardian or other custodian, a law enforcement officer, a school official, or any other person who has knowledge of the facts alleged and believes them true; it must be in writing and must be sent to the applicable human service zone⁸.
State human services guidance says that as of Aug. 1, 2022, schools should refer children and youth, including for truancy, to the Children in Need of Services Team staffed by human service zone professionals, and asks that referrals no longer go to juvenile court⁹.
The same agency's guidance says suspected educational neglect should be reported to Child Protection Services when there is reasonable suspicion a caregiver is not complying with the compulsory attendance law, the caregiver's actions or inaction directly affect the child's educational growth, and the school's efforts to resolve it with the caregiver have failed¹⁰.

Principals & districts

When a teacher reports such an absence, the administrator must start an investigation into its cause. If the administrator has reason to believe the person responsible for the student has failed to ensure the student attends, the administrator must refer the matter to local law enforcement⁶.
A person who fails to ensure a student attends as required is guilty of an infraction for a first offense and of a class B misdemeanor for a second or later offense. In a prosecution, it is an affirmative defense if the person made substantial and reasonable efforts to comply but is unable to compel the student to attend⁶.
Each school district board, and each nonpublic school's governing body, must adopt a policy that defines an excused absence as any absence supported by a verbal or written excuse from the student's parent, teacher or school administrator, and that sets out what documentation may be requested to verify an absence⁶.
The attendance law does not stop a school district or nonpublic school from withholding credit, removing a student from a course, or taking other punitive measures against a student who does not arrive in a timely fashion or who exceeds a specific number of absences, as determined by the school district or nonpublic school⁶.
Each school district and nonpublic school must submit data on school attendance and on how the attendance law is applied to the state superintendent of public instruction, at the time and in the manner the superintendent directs⁶.

Recent changes

What changed lately

The state built its own student engagement survey, the measure it uses in school ratings in place of attendance; after a pilot it decided to use it going forward, with a window of February 1-28, 2026^18,17,15.
Not enacted: in the 2025 session, a House bill to give the state education agency $1,000,000 in one-time funding to address student attendance and absenteeism in kindergarten through grade twelve failed in the House, 2 votes to 88^12,13,14.
Since Aug. 1, 2022, state guidance says schools should refer truancy cases to the Children in Need of Services Team rather than juvenile court⁹.
That follows a 2021 law, H.B. 1035, which directed truancy cases to social services rather than juvenile courts; Grand Forks district leaders said it took away schools' resources to tackle chronic absenteeism¹¹.

Accountability

How the state holds schools to it

Chronic absence is not North Dakota's school quality indicator in its federal accountability system: the state's guide says several states use attendance measures, but North Dakota elected to directly assess student engagement¹⁵.
The student engagement indicator, drawn from a student survey, is worth 30% of a school's score for elementary and middle schools and 20% for high schools¹⁵.
The state still reports chronic absenteeism on its public education data dashboard, based on student data that districts submit².
In choosing which districts get federal Title program monitoring, the state relies mainly on a weighted composite score, and chronic absenteeism is one of its indicators¹⁶.

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Sources

American Enterprise Institute (Nat Malkus). From Attendance Crisis to Chronic Condition? Tracking Post-Pandemic Chronic Absenteeism into 2025, Table A3. State-Reported Chronic Absenteeism Data, by State, School Years 2017-25 (columns 2017 to 2025 by spring year; the last value is 2025 = the 2024-25 school year; rates rounded to whole percent) (opens in a new tab) (2026-06-30)
North Dakota Department of Public Instruction. Insights of North Dakota: North Dakota Chronic Absenteeism (state data dashboard) (opens in a new tab) (accessed 2026-10-13)
The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead (reporting state data). Chronic absenteeism double prepandemic times in Fargo, Moorhead schools; West Fargo back to normal levels (opens in a new tab) (2025-03-17)
Minot Daily News (reporting state data). Tribal educator has positive outlook on Native attendance (opens in a new tab) (2024-12-09)
North Dakota Statewide Longitudinal Data System. Effects of chronic absenteeism in ND high schools (March 2022) (opens in a new tab) (2022-03)
North Dakota Legislative Assembly. North Dakota Century Code chapter 15.1-20, School attendance (opens in a new tab) (accessed 2026-10-13)
North Dakota Legislative Assembly. North Dakota Century Code chapter 27-20.2, Juvenile court (definitions) (opens in a new tab) (accessed 2026-10-13)
North Dakota Legislative Assembly. North Dakota Century Code chapter 27-20.3, Child welfare (child in need of services referral) (opens in a new tab) (accessed 2026-10-13)
North Dakota Health and Human Services. Children in Need of Services (webpage) (opens in a new tab) (accessed 2026-10-13)
North Dakota Health and Human Services fact sheet (copy posted by the University of North Dakota Children and Family Services Training Center). Fact Sheet: Educational Neglect vs. Truancy (June 2026 copy) (opens in a new tab) (2026-06)
Grand Forks Herald. Grand Forks school leaders raise concerns about changes to state policy affecting truancy charges (opens in a new tab) (2026-01-10)
North Dakota Legislative Assembly. HB 1129, 2025 Regular Session, bill text (version 25.0433.02000) (opens in a new tab) (2025)
North Dakota Legislative Assembly. HB 1129, 2025 Regular Session: Actions (opens in a new tab) (accessed 2026-10-13)
North Dakota Legislative Assembly. HB 1129, 2025 Regular Session: Overview (opens in a new tab) (accessed 2026-10-13)
North Dakota Department of Public Instruction. North Dakota School Accountability Calculation Guide 2025 (opens in a new tab) (2025)
North Dakota Department of Public Instruction. Federal Title Programs Monitoring (webpage) (opens in a new tab) (accessed 2026-10-13)
North Dakota Department of Public Instruction. ESSA Implementation Committee meeting minutes, October 14, 2025 (opens in a new tab) (2025-10-14)
North Dakota Department of Public Instruction. ESSA Implementation Committee meeting minutes, April 20, 2026 (opens in a new tab) (2026-04-20)
American Enterprise Institute (Nat Malkus). From Attendance Crisis to Chronic Condition? Tracking Post-Pandemic Chronic Absenteeism into 2025 (opens in a new tab) (2026-06-30)